Detroit Tigers: Reese Olson's great first outing leaves plenty to be excited about

Detroit Tigers pitcher Reese Olson had a loud MLB debut.

The Detroit Tigers called up Reese Olson to make his first big league start on Friday. The right-handed pitcher was tasked with facing the Chicago White Sox in his first career start, and he certainly did not disappoint.

Olson threw 5.0 innings, allowing just two hits, one walk, and two earned runs while punching out six opposing hitters. An exceptional start for the Detroit Tigers starter, who held the White Sox hitless for five innings before things got brewing in the sixth.

It was an impeccable outing for the 23-year-old, who's a former high school draftee of the Brewers that the Tigers acquired in the Daniel Norris trade from 2021. Olson has latched on well with the Tigers and carved out a road to Detroit, earning his way to the top.

The Tigers opted to bring up Olson amid some injuries and roster shuffle during this week, and he made his big league debut with a pretty loud start. But on top of the statistics themselves, there was a lot to be excited about from Olson.

It was a great big league debut, and the Tigers faithful should be looking forward to the next time that Olson takes the mound because there's a chance he could be wearing a Tigers uniform more often than not moving forward.

That being said, let's dive into Olson's first big league start and what made it such a loud performance, and why Tigers fans should be excited for him to continue to be a part of this roster for the time being.

Movement Profiles + Metrics = Success

Olson's stuff was downright filthy on Friday, and the White Sox struggled to hit him at times. While any rookie pitcher whose stuff is new to the big leagues, there can be a bit of lag from the opposing hitters as they adjust, but it's hard not to tip the cap to Olson, who had all four pitches working for him in his debut.

The right-hander worked the mid-90s on the fastball and held the velocity around 95-96 mph, reaching for 97 mph as his peak velocity on the day. The pitch spun up around the 2,200 RPM mark on average and had carry to it. The pitch had a ton of arm-side run to it, even getting some arm-side sink at times in which Baseball Savant deviated as a sinker from his four-seam that had similar velocity and spin rate profiles.

Either way, his fastball was on, locating it exceptionally well and having a ton of life to the offering. He threw the pitch 46% of the time, and while he may not have missed a ton of barrels with the pitch, he threw it for a strike to set up his off-speed.

The change-up was dominant in his debut, showing a ton of really good arm-side tumble to it. It had that "fall off the table" shape while working 86-89 mph, killing spin down into the 1,700s at its best. He threw the pitch 13 times, getting nine swings and inducing six whiffs. He generated a touch on 67% of the swings, and nearly half the time; he threw the pitch overall; pretty nasty stuff.

But wait, there's more. The slider is his go-to breaking ball, and he showed it aplenty during his debut. Olson's slider is downright filthy, working 82-87 mph, mostly being around 85 mph. The spin is unicorn-like, getting up above the 3,000 RPM range and averaging above 2,900 RPMs in his debut. The shape is nasty, with a high-tilt look and plenty of depth. He threw the pitch 30 times and induced a whiff on 33% of the swings, which was impressive.

The slider is not the only breaking ball, showing a feel for a more 12-6 or 11-5 shaped breaking ball he can whip out as well. Olson's curveball works the upper-70s with spin averaging close to 2,800 RPMs. He only threw the pitch five times, but it was a good change of pace and something he could tunnel well within his arsenal.

The movement profiles on these pitches were insane, and the metrics to pair were even better. There was a lot to like about what Olson did today in his debut.